Compare And Contrast Asmat Vs Amonos

The Asmat are a group of village-living people from New Guinea. They are famously known for their woodcarving skills. When looking at their artwork, one can see how some features and themes are very prevalent throughout the pieces, while other times it seems as though the art was made by a completely different group of people. When looking at two specific pieces the similarities and differences really shine through. The two pieces that will be compared and contrasted are one of the Asmat drums-the one created by Orem, and the Soul Canoe by Amandos Amonos and assistants. First off, the color of these pieces appears to be similar, yet also very different. These pieces are both made out of the subtractive process of carving wood. Wood does not come in too many varieties of colors, especially when considering how small of a selection these people had where they live. Even with that though they manage to have very different feels about them. The canoe generally sticks to lighter and brighter shades of tans and browns. The inside of the canoe is what appears to be the original color of the wood, a light tan …show more content…
The drum is played during many different ceremonies, feasts, and other events. The canoe was originally made to be a one-time use item for ceremonies of boys turning into men. Both sculptures allude to the old practice of headhunting in their own ways. The drum refers to it in the form of hornbills while the canoe refers to it in the form of human-mantis hybrids. The most important parts of the sculptures appear to be very similar things in both cases. For both pieces of art the creatures on the sculpture seem to be the main focal point rather than the thing that the sculpture is actually made for. For the canoe, each individual creature rather than the canoe itself are the main focal points. For the drum, the animals along the side are the focus rather than the drum